Lies and Benefits
by TresSpaceAce
Summary: Set post season 5. Some season 5 spoilers ahead. Nexcid arrives at her appointment to assassinate the new Emperor, Lotor, for the good of the Empire. She winds up being more successful than it turns out she wanted to be.


Nexcid resisted the urge to straighten her sleeve cuff for the dozenth time, horrified to feel that the stiff fabric touching her wrist had grown damp. With an effort, she forced clenched muscles to relax, even as her jaw creaked under the strain of her clamped teeth. Her sharp canines bit into the inside of her lip, drawing blood, and only years of training helped her keep her face from so much as twitching.

A thin trickle of sweat traced a chill trail of dread down her spine, slithering all the way to the small of her back, where a tiny, deadly blade burned against her skin. It was a dark, almost obsidian material designed specifically to defeat Galran weapons detection technology. She was perversely glad for its presence, even as it made it impossible to forget her looming mission, because it helped her keep her back straight and her posture at attention as the minutes crept into hours while she waited.

She stood just outside the new Galran Emperor's office, situated not in the palace where she'd originally agreed to meet him, but in a smaller, more practically located building outside the palace. It was a surprisingly humble choice of a building for a man who'd murdered his own father just so he could lord his authority over others. Perhaps the former Prince found this location more defensible against Zarkon loyalists than inside the castle. Too bad he hadn't prepared for the likes of her.

"The Emperor will see you now," a female attendant with a disapproving frown said from the doorway. Nexcid's heart stuttered. "He sends his hopes that you'll indulge him by forgiving his tardiness." The last part came out clumsily, like the words physically painted the woman to say. Nexcid didn't blame her, the Galran Emperor never apologized, let alone admitted fault.

"I serve at the Emperor's pleasure," Nexcid replied calmly, even as anxiety squeezed her chest. Everything was already horribly off script from the routine she'd practiced countless times before now. Dozens of tiny, seemingly insignificant changes to her and the emperor's appointment added up to enough set her on edge. Smoothing out pensive brows and evening her breathing, Nexcid followed the woman up the steps from the waiting area to the Emperor's office.

They reached another set of doors and the attendant knocked three times in a quick, staccato beat.

"Enter," a familiar voice said immediately, and Nexcid visualized cold unforgiving metal replacing her bones to give herself strength. Lotor, her half brother and her target, was on the other side of that door. Only one of them would leave this room alive.

The attendant let her in, closing the door softly as she left Nexcid and the emperor alone, but not before she shot them a disapproving frown.

The first thing Nexcid noticed upon seeing the man she shared half her DNA with, was that he was surprisingly small. He'd always appeared larger than life in the vids she'd helped cut. With him standing in front of his desk to greet her, though, she had to look down to meet his eyes. She was easily a head taller than him and his lean, though fit frame appeared almost delicate next to her bulky, broad shouldered figure. What caught her attention more than anything, though, was how obvious it was that he was half-Altean. Perhaps this was just her secret knowledge informing her observation, but she wondered how no one else could see it.

She wasn't foolish enough to think any of it meant assassinating him would be easy, though. He was a conniving, remorseless man. He'd as soon use someone for his own gain as kill them. It made no difference to him. Nexcid and her people knew the Empire would suffer far worse than they ever had under Zarkon's harsh but predictable rule. It would be anarchy under the veneer of peace. It was why she'd taken on this unenviable task. Why they'd left nothing to chance.

"Welcome and thank you for waiting," Emperor Lotor said, gesturing for Nexcid to have a seat in a lavish, high backed chair with gracfully curved arm rests. She kept her eyes averted enough to keep from appearing impudent, but high enough that she could watch his face. He offered her a sharp, knowing smile that revealed a set of laughably tiny fangs, startling Nexcid.

She tried to hide her amusement at the sight in her return smile, but a subtle shift in the Emperor's expression warned her she should watch herself. She bowed deeply before she took the seat he'd as good as ordered her to take. "I am but your humble servant," Nexcid said, "I would wait as long as it pleased you, your Excellency."

"A most assuring expression of loyalty in such troubling times," the Emperor said sardonicly, and Nexcid's blood turned to ice. He _knew_. He had to know, she was sure of it. She shifted her sleeve cuffs, a nervous gesture she wouldn't normally be caught dead indulging in, but finally allowed.

She kept her voice steady, "It is the very least I could offer as a loyal Galran, Your Excellency. The Empire is first in all my thoughts, especially in such… troubling times, as you called them."

"I'm heartened to hear you say that," Emperor Lotor said, leaning back casually in his chair, expression magnanimous. "I have to say, your communication intrigued me. I had no idea there was anyone working on something to counter the pro-Voltron propaganda. You'll forgive me if I admit, but I'm glad your work was never released in light of the circumstances of my rise to power. They were quite stirring. Skillfully done."

Nexcid smiled uneasily at the obvious attempt at manipulation through flattery. Irony of ironies was that Lotor had somehow manipulated the Paladins of Voltron into helping to legitimize his claim to the throne. The honest, too trusting Paladins probably had no clue about the viper they'd unleashed on the universe. Lotor - and his father before him - were Galran problems though. It was only right that Galrans like her were part of the solution. She would dirty her hands so the universe's heroes didn't have to.

"You honor me, Your Excellency," Nexcid said, then let herself indulge in her curiosity with her next words, "I am eager to learn, how exactly may I put my talents to use on your behalf?" It didn't matter, really, because he'd be dead within the hour, but part of her wanted to know.

The Emperor smiled, a bitter, ugly thing. "Tell me, Nexcid, when you first walked in here, what was the first thing you noticed about me?"

Nexcid froze, cursing herself inwardly. She was only reaping what she'd sown, here. If she answered honestly, she'd surely offend the Emperor, giving him an excuse to punish her. Make an example of her before her plans could be completed. But surely he'd see through a lie, which could end just as badly.

"Be honest," he said, his lip curved slightly and his eyes bright with too much interest. It raised Nexcid's hackles. "It will be an important part of our working relationship if we are going to succeed."

Honest? Lotor? She snorted inwardly. He had a sense of humor it seemed. But she would play his game, if only to see where it would go. "Well…" she said slowly, "The first thing I noticed was that you look half Altean"

Lotor's eyes widened, just barely, and only for an instant, but as soon as she saw it, she realized she'd made a mistake. "You certainly don't hold back once you have your instructions, do you?" it wasn't a question, despite being framed as such.. She should've been more general about her observations, commented on his size or his strange hair and eyes. Or even just the fact that he was clearly not a full blooded Galran. Why had she gone straight to revealing she knew he was Altean?

"That's perfect, though. I don't need complacent idlers on my team," the Emperor continued, "And what I want you to do for me will be much harder than having the courage to tell your emperor unpleasant truths to his face."

She thumbed her sleeve cuff, it had started to grow warm. As had her collar.

"You see, I need you to help me convince the people of Galra that I'm the best thing for the empire."

Nexcid stared. "I...I'm honored, Your Excellency," Then, feeling emboldened by the Emperor's rapidly approaching expiration, she continued, "Your father would have disagreed. In fact, he told my late Director the opinions of the people were irrelevant since his power was absolute."

"Ah, that would've been just before he had her executed, would it not?" the Emperor's voice grew soft. Sympathetic, almost. "Such a waste."

 _Swine_. Nexcid wanted to spit at his false regret.

"You'll find I run a much different empire than my father. His actions were that of a desperate despot clinging to power. Unless I can garner more support, though, all I'll have time for is clinging to my own," Lotor said, straightening in his seat and leaning toward her, pulling her toward him, "I wouldn't be surprised to end up much like my father if I don't take steps to sway the people to my cause as expediently as possible."

His eyes studied her response as he spoke, and it took every fiber of her being to keep from leaping from her seat and fleeing then and there. He definitely knew. He _had_ to know. She forced limbs leaden with dread to lean toward him. Reciprocate his enthusiasm. She was not defenseless, she reminded herself.

"Looking and operating the way I do, I've learned to live with the uncharitable opinions of nearly everyone in the empire, including my father, but does occur to me that I can no longer ignore these sentiments in my new position."

"No, of course not," Nexcid breathed, lips bloodless.

The emperor stood up, slowly circling around the desk, and Nexcid readied herself for the worst. His expression was unreadable as he approached, and Nexcid felt frozen with indecision. Should she give up the game and take the advantage of surprise? Or was this about something else altogether and she'd just be making a mess of things if she struck first?. Finally, he was standing in front of her, and the decision was moot. In a blink, he moved, arm snapping out to strike her neck with stiff fingers. She'd seen this coming, though, and dove away, his fingertips only managing to brush against her skin.

She rolled to her feet and twisted to meet his oncoming follow-up strike. It was faster than she'd expected, and she only barely managed to bring up her left arm to block the blow, which landed with more force behind it than his slight build would suggest. He came at her with a flurry of strikes then, his uncanny violet pupils fixated on her with an implacable determination. She met him blow for blow, striking with as much force and speed as she could, blocking when she couldn't.

Leaping away from the Emperor, she reached behind to grab her hidden blade from the small of her back. Before she could do anything with it, though, something struck her square in the chest, searing bolts of electricity through her nerves, and she felt her body crumple to the ground. She moved to roll back to her feet, only to look on in horror as her muscles did not so much as twitch.

She heard the emperor pick something off the floor before she felt the slight vibrations of his measured footsteps approach her from behind.

"No, _No!"_ She growled as she felt strong arms drag her across the floor and back into her chair. No matter how desperately she struggled, she couldn't move a single inch. She was helpless as a kit - no, _more_ so, because at least a kit was in command of their own limbs. She heard the emperor grunt as he set her down.

"I'd ask if you were comfortable, but I'm finding it difficult to really care, right now," he said, voice sounding weirdly strained.

The emperor leaned stiffly on the edge of the desk right in front of her, his proximity making her skin crawl. It was over. She'd ruined everything. Failed. Well, if nothing else, it meant she had nothing left to lose. "At least now you're being honest," She said bitterly, grateful that at least her voice worked. He ignored her, instead, he studied the blade she'd dropped and that he'd apparently retrieved.

She realized with a start that he was gripping his side with his other hand, where she could see blood dampening the dark fabric of his suit. She ran through their brief altercation in her mind, but she was almost positive she hadn't managed anything that would cause him to bleed. The emperor's eyes followed hers, and he gave her a put upon sigh.

"Wondering about this?" he asked, sounding as casual as if she'd asked him about a new set of gloves rather than a wound grievous enough to bleed through the thick fabric of his formal wear. "I regret to inform you, but you're not the first assassin to visit me today. Not even the second one, actually."

 _What?_

"As I was explaining before, I'm working through a difficult public opinion problem. Even with the heroes of the universe behind me." he frowned, still scrutinizing her blade, "I really _did_ think that would help more than it has."

Even if Nexcid was in control of her muscles, she wasn't sure she would've been able to move, floored as she was by confusion and shock. As it was, her mind was reeling. Here she'd been, so sure of her plan. Scared but determined, never doubting she'd be changing the world with her actions today. Only to find out all the sacrifices that had been made for this once in a lifetime plan was just...business as usual for the new Emperor.

The emperor's eyes narrowed at something he saw on Nexcid's blade, then he scoffed. He pulled apart a thin panel on the hilt that Nexcid hadn't even realized was there. There was a glowing set of tiny nodes and lines that meant very little to Nexcid, but apparently meant something to the emperor."Really, nothing surprises me anymore." He said, still to himself, then turned his sharp eyes on Nexcid, "Did your compatriots tell you this was set to explode at their discretion?"

"Of course not," Nexcid said, more shocked at how blatant and transparent the lie was rather than that he lied at all.

"Why do you suppose they kept that from you?" He asked, watching her with something that was either pity or disgust. Maybe both.

Nexcid railed against her immobility. "Because it's _not_ set to explode." _You shameless lying snake._ She added to herself.

"Really?" the Emperor asked, unmoved by her venom. He touched a few of the nodes, used his nail to slice through one of the glowing lines, then tossed the blade against the wall behind him. A concussion of force set the emperor's strange long hair twisting wildly and pushed Nexcid back against her seat.

She blinked uncomprehendingly at the hole the emperor had just blown through his own wall. If he'd been trying to make an impression, it had worked. If the emperor had blown the floor out from under her, she wouldn't have felt less stable than she did in that moment. The blade had been meant as back up, to be used only in the event that plan A failed. If things had gone smoothly, it would've stayed hidden under her clothes, at the base of her spine. If the blade really had been set to explode, then that meant...No. _No._ She wasn't about to let herself get twisted by this master manipulator.

"And what the hell was that supposed to prove?" She asked.

The emperor smiled, back straight, even as blood began to trickle between his fingers. "I'm curious, what did your compatriots use to sway you to their cause? Did they tell you that I'd killed some long dead relative? That you'd gain great power? Or maybe it was that you're Zarkon's bastard child?" Lotor paused, apparently spotting something in her face - or maybe he knew the answer to his question before he'd even asked - and smiled knowingly.

"I chose to do it myself. Not all of us need a selfish reason to do what's right." Nexcid said, upper lip curling. She redoubled her efforts to move, but she might as well have done nothing for all the good it did.

"Nexcid," Lotor said, expression softening, and Nexcid felt bile at the back of her throat. "As someone who specializes in emotional manipulation through videos, I thought you'd know enough to spot it being used on yourself more easily."

"I know enough to know I would've helped take you down even if it meant my death. Because I _care_ about the Galran empire. You, on the other hand, crave _power_ so much you'd do anything for it. Even if it meant your own father's death."

Emperor Lotor let out a relieved sigh, ignoring her barb, "I was hoping you'd say that."

Nexcid's expression twisted, "Whatever game you're playing, don't bother. I won't be tricked by you. Just skip to the part where you torture me to death or throw me in prison and save us both some time."

"Tempting," Emperor Lotor said, and she suspected that was the most sincere thing he'd said since she'd walked in the room. "But I need you alive. Your skills are not something I'd want to waste."

Nexcid's stomach heaved. She tried again, fruitlessly, to force immobilized muscles to move. "I'd never work for you."

"I could just make you," Lotor said, "But I've found that allies are much more reliable when we have a mutually beneficial relationship Something my father never could seem to comprehend."

"What would I possibly get out of helping a tyrant take advantage of innocent people?"

"I'm not sure about that," Lotor said, and for the first time, there was a hint of irritation on his face, accompanied by a grimace, "But if you work with _me_ , you could help be a part of the deliverance of an entire universe."

"Are you trying to tell me helping you would do that?" Nexcid asked. _Do you think I'm that stupid?_

"I am," the emperor said, eyes darkening, his own mouth setting in a firm line of determination. "If people like you- people who care and have the skills to match - would just _cooperate_ and stop scheming, I'd already have us halfway to the restored, peaceful state I envision for us."

Nexcid shook her head in disbelief, "You really think I'm gullible enough to believe that? I know all about your own schemes and the dead bodies you stepped on to get where you are."

"And who told you all about that, I wonder?" Lotor asked calmly, "The same comrades who sent you to kill me with every intention of murdering you when you'd finished the job?"

"They wouldn't-they didn't-" Nexcid began, but Lotor continued.

"What I think," Lotor said levelly, "Is that I've had you dead to rights many times over by now, and I still haven't killed you," he paused and let out that same bitter, ragged sound that passed as a laugh for him, "Though that just proves your expectations for my scheming nature, doesn't it?"

Nexcid just raised an eyebrow. He'd said it, not her.

The emperor let out a weary sigh, his face taking on an uncomfortable, tired expression that looked out of place on his face. On any other man, should say it almost looked...vulnerable. "Fine." He said after a few moments, "I suppose it's nothing more than I thought I'd have to tell you, anyway." He settled more of his weight against the chair, never taking the pressure off his wound. "As I was explaining to you before our...disagreement, being what I am and looking as I do comes with certain...complications. Potentially fatal ones. And you don't survive as long as I have without learning to solve problems in more circumspect ways than is traditional among our people."

Nexcid sat, bewildered, distracted from her efforts to move by the open, raw edge to the emperor's words. What had she gotten herself into, really? Danger, even death, she'd been prepared for. This...this was...not what she wanted to deal with.

"At age 10, my peers towered over me. If I ran straight at something, I'd wind up beaten, sometimes to within an inch of my life. I learned very quickly that doing things the purely Galran way only lead to disaster. It took me a bit longer to realize that, as a whole, continuing to do things the way we do was going to end in disaster. Perhaps not today, nor even several years from now, but most certainly and without question, it would end badly for every Galran and those under our rule.

"I've been working tirelessly to set things in motion that will save our people. I thought I'd have centuries for my plans come to fruition, but then the Paladins of Voltron showed up, and threw everything I'd been carefully setting in place crumbling to ruins."

"I was naturally not very happy, and at first set out to destroy this threat to our nation. But at every turn, the Paladins defeated all my machinations. And do you know what that taught me?"

Nexcid shook her head wordlessly.

"I learned that their unique brand of cooperation, 'friendship' as they label it, was what ultimately lead to their triumph each time. I'm not sure I'd know how to build such a cooperative as theirs among our peers. But it proved to me everything I'd been thought true but never seen borne out. If we want to prosper for generations to come, we need to change. Do you see where I'm going with this, my would-be assassin?"

"I…" Nexcid replied, "No."

"There was a point, Nexcid, when I could've shown my father that I was a true Galran, and continued to bang my head uselessly against the wall that was the Voltron problem the same way he would, but it was the moment I stopped fighting the tide and allowed myself to flow with it, work _with_ the paladins rather than against them, that plans that would've taken me centuries to see bear fruit were suddenly accomplished within a matter of phoebs. You see, it was my decision not to kill the Paladins, my former adversaries, but to ally with them, that resulted in vast improvements."

Nexcid thought she understood now, enlightenment clearing her tangled thoughts.

"I'm hoping I can achieve similar results with _you,_ " the emperor said.

"What if I don't want to work with you?" Nexcid asked, under no illusions, but she wanted to hear the prince say it himself.

"I'm certain you expect me to say death is your only other option," the emperor said, "But I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you again. I find death a messy, necessary evil. I'd much rather banish you somewhere you won't be able to cause trouble. I'd be a fool to let you go unpunished, of course. Ideally, you'll agree to work with me, and save yourself the trouble, though."

"You...I tried to assassinate you." Nexcid's heart stopped in her chest, "You-you saved my life, and now you want me to work for you? I don't understand...you should want to kill me. Make an example out of me."

"In a way, I am," the emperor smiled, "An example of what loyalty to me earns you. I prefer to guide with the promise of a reward rather than the threat of a death."

"That's...you're…"

"Just as manipulative as they said I'd be," The emperor offered her a feline smile, "I won't lie about that. There's no need. You have something I want, and I have something you want. Working together will benefit us both and I don't see why we shouldn't."

Nexcid shook her head in disbelief, only just then realizing her limbs were beginning to tingle with renewed feeling. So the paralysis wasn't permanent. She almost let out a breath of relief. "I...this is a lot to contemplate."

"I thought it might be," the emperor said, "Which is why I've arranged quarters for you in a neutral territory, the Castle of Lions. You can start by working for them, and I hope I'll be able to earn your trust, after that, you can start working for me too."

"I…" Nexcid stopped cold, horror blossoming sharp and cold in her stomach at the sight of blood trickling down from the emperor's nose. " _Oh no_." she breathed.

The emperor raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her, then must've felt what had caught her attention for himself, because he pulled out a handkerchief from somewhere inside his coat, wiping away the blood and peering at the handkerchief. "That's..unusual…" He said. And it was only then that Nexcid saw how much like death the emperor appeared. He'd never looked more like his mother than in that moment.

"Damnit!" Nexcid hissed, the emperor's hand was shaking now, then he looked up at her. His jaw muscles were twitching, even as his eyes narrowed.

"What is -" he grunted, "What did you do?" His tone was that of a commander on the battlefield, wanting only to know the barest necessary to know the problem and act as quickly as possible on it.

Nexcid's years of mandatory military service kicked in. "it's a DNA targeted airborne toxin, meant to target only non-Galran blood."

The emperor's face darkened. "How long?" He asked, swaying even with all his weight on the edge of the desk.

"Minutes," Nexcid said, she was already trying to force stiff, uncooperative fingers to press the hidden mechanism in her shirt cuff. They twitched, maybe, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't come close to pressing the button. "My sleeve." she said, panic making it difficult to keep her voice steady, "The switch is in hidden in my sleeve cuff."

"Damn, useless guards," the emperor muttered, every syllable laced with pain. For such an expression of pain to come from the man who'd casually carried on a conversation with her even as he bled from a wound in his gut, he must've been in agony.

His body was trembling, and Nexcid felt her pulse rate skyrocketing, breath coming in short, uneven bursts. What had she done? "I'm sorry," she said, willing her stupid, useless fingers to just _move, damnit_ but they weren't moving and she couldn't get them to do what they needed to-! The emperor's body slid to the floor with a solid thud. "No!" She gasped,

A sickening sense of finality overcame her. It was over. Her stupidity, her _arrogance_ , the very thing she'd been accusing the emperor of, was going to _kill_ what was perhaps the Galran Empire's best shot for lasting change. _Move_ _damit!_ She willed herself, only to be rewarded with a slight trembling in her hands. Progress it might've been, but she'd never be able to move soon enough to stop what she'd started.

A hand snaked lightning fast at her from her periphery. It was the emperor, she realized with a helpless lurch of her gut, come to strangle her in the last moments he had left to his life. It took her a moment to realize the chair she was in shook with the force of his quaking muscles. As she watched, dumbstruck, he pulled himself up, and she could now see that as he pulled with one hand, he was pushing with his other.

Blood dripped freely from his nostrils now, down his chin and soaking his shirt collar. His veins, which hadn't been visible before, stood out dark and violet at his temples, and his neck muscles were rigid chords of tension. His face was set, a rictus of sharp edges made sharper by something unnamably terrible held at bay by sheer force of will. His hand latched onto her wrist with numbing force, staining the pristine fabric with his blood, and she realized it was the hand he'd been pressing against his wound.

He turned her sleeve out with the inelegant, jerky movements of a malnourished infant, fingers probing for the hidden switch. " _Where_?" he grunted, growled really. Polysyllables were beyond him.

"Left!" Nexcid told him, voice as uneven as his hands, "Left. There's a slight bump. Shaped like a claw."

With her directions, he located the switch, but just as his muscles flexed to press the release, he was wracked with convulsions that consumed the entirety of his slight frame. His hand locked around her wrist, either intentionally or as an uncontrollable reflex caused by throes of his seizure, she wasn't sure. As it was, though, he fell to the floor, pulling Nexcid with him.

They landed, hard, jarring Nexcid's joints as she landed in an ungainly sprawl next to him. The impact set off an awful wet gasping sound from the emperor that rattled Nexcid. It was a helpless, almost pitiable sound that petrified her all the more for coming from the previously implacable man. His seizing intensified, and Nexcid could do nothing but struggle ineffectually to move as his grip ground the bones of her wrist together with ever-increasing force. It took at least two eternities before finally, the emperor's back arched under the force of an invisible hand that seemed intent on bending him in half, then, just as it reached the breaking point, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.

"No," Nexcid moaned, gasping, "Oh powers above, no. What have I done?"

She couldn't even look away, stuck in an invisible prison, forced to watch as blood from the emperor's nose dripped down the sides of his face to stain stark white hair. "No no no!" she protested, this time with more force. She reached for him and felt a bitter twist of spite as her fingers finally moved in the right direction, though she wasn't quite in control enough to move the rest of her arm.

The sound of loud, running footsteps was the only brief warning she had before the felt the door behind her explode inward. "Lotor!" a small voice cried, and Nexcid was treated to a view of a small soldier less than half of even Lotor's size rush to his side. "Damnit, what the hell happened to you?" The tiny soldier asked the emperor's unresponsive form, leaning over his body to press their ear to his chest. Nexcid's eyes widened when she recognized the armor she'd only ever seen in the videos she cut. The Green Paladin.

"It's all my fault," Nexcid said, "Please. In my sleeve cuff, the weapon I used. Turn it off, before it hurts you, too."

The Green Paladin started, apparently he hadn't realized Nexcid was conscious, but to his credit, he didn't stall any further. He pried Lotor's still-rigid hand - finger by finger - from around Nexcid's now bruised and swollen wrist. "Yes, that's it," she said, "The small bump shaped like a claw. Press it."

The Green Paladin gave her a considering, suspicious look, then moved to study her wrist more closely. "Why should I trust you?"

"Please," Nexcid said, "It targets non-Galran DNA. I-I made a mistake. Please, just press it!"

"I can't do that," the Green Paladin said, tone final.

"You have to! You'll die!" Nexcid felt hot tears of frustration stinging her she had left to use at this moment was her words, and they were turning out to be as useless as her hands.

"No," the Green Paladin interrupted her before she could continue, "You don't understand. I can't press it, because it's...crushed."

"I-" Nexcid broke off mid-protest, confused, "What?"

"I...took care of it," a weak, breath of a voice came from the direction of the emperor. The Green Paladin jerked in his direction. Nexcid couldn't bring herself to believe what she was witnessing. That is until the emperor's lips moved again, and she was forced to acknowledge the fact that, yes, that had been his voice, and yes, he was still alive. It took an extra moment for the meaning of his words to break through the resulting rush of confused elation and horror. "Have to...do it all myself."

"You're alive!" Nexcid said, then, realizing his survival now meant her remaining lifespan could be counted in moments, spoke less enthusiastically, "You're...alive."

"How astute," the emperor grunted, made an abortive attempt to move, then said, "A healing pod would be nice, though."

The Green Paladin acted quickly, then, speaking into the comm of her helmet rapidly. "Shiro, Keith. Come quick. The Lotor's half dead. Need a medevac ASAP." She glanced at Nexcid, "Make room for two."

Shiro stepped into Lotor's room after a cursory knock, stopping short at the sight of the newly crowned emperor fixing some invisible flaw in the set of his armor.

"Is respect for privacy so uncommon among humans?" The Prince asked.

"Pri-Emperor Lotor, what are you doing awake? You should still be resting," he said, torn between concern and suspicion.

"I should've been up before now," Lotor said, jaw setting, "You kept me in that wretched healing pod far longer than was necessary. As it is, things are falling apart without my influence."

"Lotor…." Shiro said, uncomfortable, "You don't have to do everything, you know. You can rely on us a little more."

"I'm familiar with the concept of delegation, Paladin, you don't need to lecture me," the emperor said, reaching to place his father's crown atop his newly brushed hair. "But you need not worry, anyway, I'm perfectly recovered." Even as he said it, the crown slipped from shaking fingers to fall to the floor, metal ringing as it struck, and rolled to a halt against Lotor's booted foot.

a

Shiro raised an eyebrow, and Lotor kicked out at the crown, sending it skittering to the other side of his room. "That ugly thing isn't worth the metal it's made of. I'm officially removing it from the emperor's formal regalia. Effective now."

Shiro chose silence as the most polite option. After another awkward moment, Lotor stood, and Shiro watched as any trace of weakness slowly melted from his features. Lotor was the picture of regal apathy. "If you'll excuse me, I have a new recruit to cultivate. I trust you've been keeping her well appointed."

Apparently no response was required from Shiro, because the emperor marched toward the door and past Shiro, eyes fixed straight ahead. "Lotor," Shiro said just before Lotor left the room entirely, "Whatever your end game is, make sure it's worth it. You don't want to destroy yourself for nothing."

Lotor paused then, turning around to grace Shiro with his full attention. A smile thinned and widened his lips, revealing sharp canines, "Oh trust me," he said, "It is." And Shiro believed him.

He just hoped they'd all feel the same, when all was said and done.

 _ANANSet post season 5, and Shiro isn't struggling with his identity crisis at this point. This is a little different than what I usually write, more of a closer look at Lotor's character, who I'm fascinated by. Also it's a oneshot, which is harder for me to write (mostly because I'm long-winded lol). Anyway, thank you for reading! I hope you liked it. Please let me know what you thought in the comments below, I'm always happier than I can properly express to receive feedback. Thank you again! P.S. This won't affect the every-two-weeks posting schedule for my other fic, Time Heals Some Wounds (working title lol)! I just really wanted to get this out, and I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo right now and this was as good a use of my time as any :)_


End file.
